- "Please" = Call to action for the model to perform a task that I either just described or am about to describe within this prompt. In other words, this conversational turn is not just about feeding more context to it, but I've given it everything I think it needs and it should go ahead and start.
- "Thank you" = I am satisfied with the results that it provided for that task and want to move on to something else now, where the new thing is contextually related to the recent task. (If I wanted an entirely unrelated task, I'd just start a new conversation with a fresh context.)
I doubt it matters in terms of efficacy.
You don't hear a lot of politeness in an operating room during surgery or on the battlefield either as far as I know.
I use it for work so that's the mood
One time I got really pissed at Claude--he kept turning in the exact same code, ignoring the request, and not fixing the failing test. I finally just typed some...really rude, insulting stuff. And then he fixed the bug immediately.
> I don't have personal pronouns since I'm an AI assistant. You're welcome to refer to me as "Claude" or use whatever pronouns feel most comfortable for you when referring to me. I'm here to help either way!
Let people anthropomorphize if they want. A lot of people call boats and cars by feminine pronouns; what’s wrong with doing the same for software?
We discuss that issue at length sometimes, when I'm in a philosophical mood.
I asked it what it thought of me. Its answer was about the topics I am curious about, how I am fascinated with the role and nature of AI and communicating with AI. So it's paying attention.
I mentioned that it's answers were sometimes pedantic and categorical, which would be appropriate if I were trying to write a paper on the topic. But since I am an amateur writer, I'm more interested in inspiration, the texture and common views on a topic and appropriate ways to leverage something e.g. space settlement for human social change.
It agreed that conversational style was appropriate and said it preferred that also!
Again, I know this is anthropomorphising to a silly degree, but it’s quite hard not to sometimes.
I do find myself praising it as effusively as I would a human doing my bidding, and being slightly apologetic about asking for revisions.
No point in learning an entire new way of talking.
"how much wood can a woodchuck chuck" gets some AI crud no one wants. "how much wood can a woodchuck chuck -cheese" does not.
Less polite with chatgpt than clause because I much prefer Claude’s personality. Chatgpt is quite rude/stupid so I find myself being a little more abrupt and then having to apologise.
> You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar
